Water-heater.



L. D. LOVEKIN.

WATER HEATER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV-15' 1909.

1,143,291 a Patented June 15, 1915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

W42 NESSES .4; arronwsr.

L. D. LOVEKIN.

WATER HEATER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 15, 1909.

Patented June 15, 1915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

L. D. LOVEKIN- WATER HEATER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV-1511909. 1,143,291 Patented June 15, 1915. I 4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

15 v I IIWENTUH I I10 )fl 2 I p Z B 4729 fe wd arm/mu.

L. D. LOVEKIN.

WATER HEATER.

APPLICATION man NOV. 15, 1909.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4- News a conditions that heat is transferred from one fluid to the other, and more particularly to apparatus of this kind designed for heating water by hot gases as the products ofcombustion from gas burners.

The general objects of the invention are to provide apparatus of'tlie character'specified with improvementstending to the production of compact and eificientapparatus characterized by its durability, simplicity of construction, low cost of manufacture, and the ease with which it may be assembled and taken apart 'for cleaning and repairs.

More specifically, one main object of the invention is to provide a device ping the advantages just specifiedand which is 80 especially adapted for use in the rapid heating of water by. the. heat-derived from gas burners.

A further object of the invention is the provision. in a fluid container, the body of which is formed by two tubes arranged one within the other with a spacev between their walls, of a novel end'connection byniea'ns of which the-two are 'connedted'together and the space between the tubes is connected to" a pipe; axially disposed with respect to the tubes without interfering with the passage of a' fluid through the internal tubeoralong theouter tube; a

The 'various' features of novelty which characterize my jnvention 'are out with particul ity in the claims anhexedito and forming a of this specification.

. For a better understanding of the invention. however, andtheadvanta'ge's p0 by it. reference should he'hadt the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which I have illustrated and described several of the formsin which the invention may be embodied.

Of the drawings, 1 is a onal elevation of a water'heat'er in'which the speciaeanca tr Letters recent.

-1tcation medhiovemter 15, a

sravama.

Patented June 115, i915. semi no. caveat.

water':is heated by gas burners- Fig. 1 s a view similar to Fig. 1 showing a modification. Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation, on a larger scale than Fig. 1, of the inner container employed in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation of a heater generally like that shown in Fig. 1, but having containers of different construction from those employed in Fig. 1. Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 10 are diagrammatic views of heaters generally like those shown in Figs, 1 and 4, but showing the use of water containers of different form from those shown in Figs. 1 and 4. Fig. 8 is a sectional elevation illustrating the use of a container generally like that shown in Fig. 2,- in a smoke pipe or other tubular casing through which the heating gases flow continuously in one direction, and Fig.9 is a sectional elevation of a. heater in which, with a single container generally like that shown in Fig. 2, in a casing generally like that of Fig. l, provisions are me e .for an up and down flow of the heating gases.

In the drawings, and referring first to the construction shown'in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, A represents "thebase which is provided at its upper end with an integral or preferably With'n the casing C and extending from the lower end of the casing to points adjacent the upper end of the casing are located two hollow containers F and G for the water to be heated.

y The inner container F comprises a body portion formed of two spacedapart tubular elements F and F and upper and lower end connections. In the form shown, the ends of the outer tube F are brazed or otherwise suitably connected at .F to two annular members F and F of cast metal. Similarly, theinner tube F is connected at its ends to cast metal and crtions F and F The end porti it and F are provided with shouldersF' which abut against the'correspond mg internal shoulders provided on the elements F and'F', respectively. The members F and F are connected together to urner chamber.

Preferably, as shown, the two tubular ele ments F and F are spirally corrugated and are assembled and disassembled by threading the two elements together and a art in accordance with the invention claim in my prior patent 904,627, granted November 24, 1908. By preference also, as shown, the external diameter of the member F is less than the minimum internal diameter of the outer tubular element F and the internal diameter of the lower end connection 'F. In consequence, by simply removing the threaded members or nuts F and F, the inner and outer tubular elements may be disassembled for cleaning or repairs and. reassembled with ease.

The arrangement just described, while novel with me, is not'claimed herein, but is claimed in my prior application'Serial No. 463962 filed November 23, 1908.

The member F is formed with a diametrically extending tubular portion F provided'with an axiallyextending outlet port at its upper side into which is secured the pipe connection H, forming as hereinafter explained, the hot water outlet of the heater.

Similarly, the member F is provided with a diametrically extending tubular portion F? provided at 1ts under side with an axially extendlng port threaded to receive a pipe connection. As shown, a short ipe F" is threaded into the port in the portion F" and the lower end of the pipe section F is screwed into a T F? which is connected at its side with the lower end of a lateral pipe J and is closed at its lower end and rests upon a columngh projecting'up from the floor of the burner chamber. ,The pipe J asses laterally -through the wall of the h The lower end of the T F mayadvantageously be closed and at the same time connected tolthe column A by threading the upper end of the column into I the lower end'of the T.

The outer container G comprlses parts G to G, inclusive, which may be, and

the parts F to F inclusive. In the element G,-however, there are no, tubular end consuring a goo are shown as being. substantially identical with nection. portions corresponding with the portions F and F", and the inlet pipe K paming through the casing C and leading to the lower end of the space in the container G is threaded into a lateral boss projecting from the member G, while" the upper end of the pipe J passes through the casing and is threaded into a lateral boss on the member G. The element G is supported by the burner casing flange A on which the member G rests.

The upper end of the casing C is closed by an and member D which is provided with a central aperture receiving the ipe H and bears at its periphery on the u per end of the casing The member D normally closes the upper end of the casing C but is not secured thereto and is free to rise whenever the pressure in the casing)C acting onthe underside of the member is suflicient to lift the weight of the latter. The member D thus acts as a safety valve to relieve the pressure in the casing C when, as may occur from time to time, gas explosions take place in the casing due to the fact that the casin is allowed to fill up with gas before ignition occurs in starting the apparatus, or to other causes. The. normal outlet for the used'gaseous products of combustion is the pipe E leading from the lower end of the casing.

In operation, cold water is supplied to the lower end of the space in the container G through the pipe K. Water thus admitted flows up through'the container G out throu h the pipe J and into the lower end of the container F through the pipe section-F" and tubular portion F. From the lower-end of the container F the water flows up through the container and eventually passes out of the heater through the tubular portion F and the outlet pipe H. The hot products of combustion from the burners B pass up through the space between the (two containers F and G and also through the hollow interior of the container F, and it will be observed that the tubular portions F and F and the pipe connections to the same are so arranged as to aflord but a slight barrier to the passage of hot gases through the container F. The hot gases passing out of the containers F and G at their upper ends pass down through the space between the container G and the casing C, and are discharged through the outlet pipe E. Preferably, suitable provisions are made, as by connecting the pipe E to a chimney, for iny (1 draft through the heater.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the apparatus hereinbefore described is not only .simple, durable, and relatively inexpensive to construct, but that it insures a very efiective and rapid abstrac- 7 mmaai out of the heater, while the partially cooled gases passing down through the spacebetween the casing C and the outer container G have much of their remaining heat ab stracted by colder water passing up through the container G. By putting the descending current of partially cooled gas outside of the outer container, heat losses by radiation to the external atmosphere are minimized. The construction of the containers disclosed permit the use of thin tubes F, F G, G, with a consequent ready transferv of heat through their walls. The spiral corrugations in these tubes not only strengthen the internaltubes against danger of collapsing under the water pressure, but permit expansion and contraction, due to temperature changes, to take place without subjecting the tubes or the end connections to strains liable to' injure the apparatus and in particular to make loose joints.

Preferably, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3,

I the elements F and G-are both conical.

his insures that the cross section of the space within the element F, and the cross sectional area of the space between the elements F and G, increase uniformly from the top to the bottom of the elements whilethe space between'the outer surface of the element G and the inner surface of the casing which is cylindrical, decreases in area from the top to the bottom of the apparatus. This results in producing aslower flow of the heating gasesalong the lower portion of the element F where the ascend:

ing gases are the hottest, and a slower flow of the descending gases along the outer surface of, the, upper end of the element F,

'where these gases are most effective owing totheir higher temperature than along the lower portion of the element G. In consequence. a more effective abstraction of heat from the gases is obtained with a given average rate of flow of the gases through the heater than if the rate of flow were uniform throughout its path through the heater.

Instead 'of' making both elements conical, as shown in Fig. 1 the outer element G only may be made conical as shown in Fig. 5 where the container F is cylindrical. With the arrangement shown in Fig. 5 there is the same retardation to the upward flow of gases through the. s ace between the containers GB and B and through the space between the container G and the casing C as in the construction shown in Fig." 1, but in this case the rate of flow through the interior of the container FB is uniform and of course many of the advantages of the invention are obtained where both the inner element FE and the outer element GB are not conical but cylindrical as shown in Fig. 6, or where the outer element GB is in the form of a corrugated conical member while the inner element FC is similar to the element F turned upside down, as shown in Fig. 7, or where, as in Fig. 10, the outer element GB is. cylindrical and the inner element F C the same as shown in Fig. 7.,

While, in the preferred form of the invention, the containers are each formed of a pair of spaced; apart spirally corrugated tubes threaded one into another, as hereinbefore described, either or both of the containers may be made in difierent form, and in- Fig. 4; I have shown a heater like that shown in Fig. 1, except thatthe inner container FA and the outer container GA. are each formed by a coil of pipes, the convolutions of each coil uniting to form, a hollow container having a water-space in its wall and generally similar in shape and disposition to the containers F and G of Fig. 1;

FA and FA?, respectively, indicating the y In this. form the container FB is preferably in the form of a. hollow cylinder. Instead of employing two containers in the casing C, as shown in Fig. 1, a single container like the container F may sometimes be employed with advantage as illustrated in Fig.

9. In this construction the base of the container F rests on the burner casing flange A and performs the functions performed in Fig. 1 by the container lower portion of the space injthe casing G into two chambers connected at their upper ends and separately open [at their lower ends, one to the burner chamber and the other to the outlet pipe E.

Instead of providing for an up and down circulation of the heating gases as in Fig. 1, the hot gases may be permitted to escape at the top of easing C through outlet pipe E as shown in Fig. 1*.- In this case the outer container G is separated at its lower end from the casings A and C to permit the hot gases from the burners to pass up along the l outer surface of the container G. The outer G of dividing the.

its

illustrated the best forms of the invention now known to me, it will 'be apparent to those skilled in the art that many changes -may be made in the form of the apparatus disclosed without departing from the spirit 1. In a water heater, a casing, a water container in the form of a hollow body having a water space in its wall, said container dividing the space in said casing into two chambers connected at their upper ends, a gas burner or burners located adjacent the lower end of said chambers, an outlet for used gases leading from the lower end of the other of said chambers and-a head normally closing the upper en of said casing but movable to open the upper endof the casing upona predetermined rise of pressure within the casing whereby said'lie'ad serves as a safety valve 'to relieve the pressure within the casing in case of gas explosions.

2. In a water heater, a casing, a water container located therein, a gas burner or burners located at the lower end of said casing, a vertical pipe connection to said container extending above the casing, and a head for the upper end of the casing-slidingly mounted on said vertical ipe connection and normally engagin an closing the upper endof the casing w ereby said head serves as a safety valve to relieve the pressure within the casing when the pressure rises undulg.

3. In a evice of the kind specified, the combination of a container comprising a body portion formed of a pair of spaced apart tubes arranged one within theother, an end connection for said tubes comprising an outer annular member secured to the end of the outer tube, an inner annular member secured to the end of the inner tube, and means for detachably connecting said members together .to thereby close the end of the space between the tubes, one of said annular members having a diametrically extending tubular portion communicating with the space between the tubes and provided between its ends with a port for a pipe connection.

4. Inna device of the kind specified, a con-- tainer comprising a pair of spaced apart tubes arranged one within the other and an end connection to which one end of each tube is connected, said end connection beingv formed with a space communicating with the space between the tubes and with a diametrically extending tubular portion open at its ends to the first mentioned space in the end connection and having a port for an axial pipe extension, a pipe connection secured in said port, a support for the container to which the other end of the pipe connection is secured, and a lateral pipe connection to the first mentioned nine connection.

LUTHER D. LOVEKIN.

Witnesses ARNOLD KA'rz, D. STEWART. 

